


help me breathe again

by evaneddie



Series: dhylen writes one shots [24]
Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Kidnapping, Slight Violence, i am chenford trash bitches, i legit just binge watched the whole series and needed to write and share this, post 2x10, very mild cursing, worried tim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21777997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evaneddie/pseuds/evaneddie
Summary: tim goes on a hunt to find lucy himself after hearing the news that she's been kidnapped.
Relationships: Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Series: dhylen writes one shots [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1433956
Comments: 19
Kudos: 145





	help me breathe again

**Author's Note:**

> my first chenford fic after just recently binge watching the entire series and i am now trash for these two and the show itself. i hope you enjoy :)

It's only recently come to something he's realised, and it couldn't be worse timing. Rachel had just broken up with him, claiming that he needed to open his eyes and see what's right in front of him, that she can't compete with her best friend when he's clearly not invested in the relationship between them. It was then when things started to click into place for him. Falling for his boot was never something he planned. Telling her, or anyone else for that matter, was out of the question. Tim hasn't been dubbed the macho tough guy for no reason. Admitting feelings for the rookie he's training will make him appear soft, and taken less seriously. Not to mention what it could do to her career.

That's the part he's worried about most. Officers of all levels and departments will see her differently, as a less than equal. Lucy is just starting out in her life as a police officer, and he will not willingly do anything to jeopardise it for her. Stupidly, he cares about her too much for that to happen.

Of course, the mentality of trying to appear as though he doesn't care about her goes flying at high speed out the window when he learns of her disappearance. The disappearance that he inadvertently caused by convincing her to go out for drinks after their tiresome day. But Lucy is her own person, and while he acts like a dick towards her sometimes, he knows and admires the fact that she can make her own decisions without him there to steer her in a certain direction. So yeah, he knows technically this isn't his fault, but he had been pushy with her in regards to drinking with another person. Inwardly, he'd hoped that somehow she would forget all about the guy that came to the station and given her his number, and instead invite Tim himself along. No amount of alcohol would have toughened him up enough to tell her how he feels, but it would have been nice to spend time together outside of their work environment.

When the sargent had called all available personnel into the station at six am, Tim hadn't thought too much of it, even when no additional information was given about the situation other than an officer being in danger. Hell, even when Lucy's seat had remained vacant when Grey addressed everyone for what was similar to an early roll call, he had not put two and two together that his trainee may be the one in trouble. She's tough, she can take care of herself and for some reason was unavailable to come in on such short notice.

That was at least until he saw West's red eyes, swimming with unshed tears. Two words into the sargent's speech, Tim interrupted haphazardly. "Sorry, sir, but where's my boot?"

Sargent Grey inhales deeply, and rubs his fingers against the bridge of his nose. Suddenly everything makes sense. "Sarge, where's Lucy?"

Never has he called her by her first name, and while it feels foreign on his tongue, it's a sensation he could definitely get used to, under better circumstances anyway. It doesn't even faze him that everyone's eyes are pointed in his direction after the words spill from his lips. He knows it should, but it doesn't. His only mindset was on her, on Lucy, wondering if she was okay.

"Officer Chen has been kidnapped," answers Sargent Grey solemnly.

Now, twenty-two hours later, he hasn't stopped for a second, let alone slept a wink like his superiors had advised him to do. He can't. Not until she is found well and safe, and even then he would be by her side in her hospital room as she's monitored closely by health professionals. 

Lucy. Lucy. Lucy.

Every thought he has is about her now. Every breath he takes, he thinks she could be taking her last at the same second. By some miracle, working with Nell on isolating the background of the most recent video sent to the station by the guy - no, the monster - holding her, they had found where Lucy was being kept. Cross referencing the sounds in the background and the tiniest of glimpses through the mostly frosted glass of the window behind the kidnapped officer had taken longer than expected. But he and Nell were able to pinpoint an estimated location within a few yards. 

The perp - yeah they usually don't call them that, but it works for him right now - had sent a video of Lucy's bruised and bloodied face as if taunting the department, challenging them to find her before time runs out. It had come through some heavily encrypted networks that even the FBI couldn't crack soon enough, and Tim had taken it upon himself to watch the most recent one, over, and over, and over again, in hopes that he may catch something the others had missed. She hadn't said anything on the tape, opting for ignoring the aggressive prompts of Caleb, which, come to think of it, is probably an alias.

As he pulls up alone to the rundown building, he gets a text from Nell telling him to wait for backup and that she had advised the rest of the team. But he tosses his phone violently to the passenger seat and steps out of his shop, drawing his weapon immediately. There's probably only mere minutes of air Lucy has left so he knows he can't waste valuable time sitting around and waiting for the cavalry, not when her life is about to be ripped from her.

He tries to convince himself that he's just doing his job, and that she would do the same thing for him. Oh how he tries. Knowing Lucy, she would do the same for him, but for vastly different reasons. The main one being that it's her job. The next, is that he's her TO, yet another reason why he can't voice his feelings towards her. 

Sweat beads lightly on his forehead as he walks cautiously towards the door, ready to kick it in. Stealth is key, however. Can't have this asshole getting spooked and running, or harming Lucy any further. So he reaches out to the door handle quietly, to find it surprisingly unlocked, and twists it, praying to whatever deity is listening that it doesn't squeak. 

It's disgusting inside, filthy and abandoned looking, and the stench of everything hits his nostrils like a thick blanket almost knocking the wind out of him. Remaining calm and on alert, he pushes it down deep inside him, clearing the room as he does so.

"Where are you, you bastard?" he whispers under his breath, to nobody in particular but aimed at a specific someone. 

Sirens in the distance become closer by the second, and he knows that pretty soon this place will be swarming with officers, ready to take down the bad guy and help one of their own. But Tim wants to do this, he has to. He should have trusted his gut when he had the feeling this guy was trouble. In all honesty, though, he thought it was just because said guy was taking an interest in the girl he likes.

Clearly that wasn't the only reason Tim got that odd impression. 

"Right here," he hears a voice grumble to his right as a solid object connects with his temple, rendering him disoriented for a short moment. 

He grunts as Caleb tackles him to the ground, and lands a fist to his cheek. Although Caleb got the drop on him, Tim has the upper hand with a slight advantage to height and strength, so he does everything he can to fight back.

There's a loud crunch as Tim slams his palms into the arm of the assailant, snapping the weapon - he now sees is a gun - from his grip. The man shouts in pain, and the pistol goes flying across the cemented ground with an echoing clack. They struggle for a bit, both trying to win the fight, but the only way Tim is going to let it end, is with Caleb in cuffs or a body bag, and shit what he wouldn't give for it to be the latter.

A body bag for the one that has hurt his friend seems like it would be the better choice, but deep down, he knows he should do the right thing - the cop thing.

With a swift kick to the groin and a final blow of his fist to the nose, Tim is able to pin Caleb to the ground and hastily put silver shackles over his wrists. He's unconscious at this point, so there's no reason for him to ask where Lucy is, he just has to go find her himself while Caleb lay stomach down.

"Officer Chen?" he calls out loudly, hearing vehicles pull up in the driveway outside. He pays the other officers no mind as they call out to him. As he speed walks toward the back of the old office building, he looks around for her, hoping he's not too late. If past victims are anything to go by, he should be looking for a barrel of some sort.

Then he sees it, sitting in a dirty corner, matching the horrid state of its surroundings. He's pleading that he won't be opening it to a sight he will never be able to unsee. 

He can't open it on his own, and surely Caleb was methodical enough to have something lying around to pry it open when the time came. Searching frantically, he hears footsteps behind him, and watches as Nolan walks in with a crowbar in hand. At least one of them came prepared. He knows they're all worried and scared for her too, but he needs to be the one to do this.

Without a word, he snatches it roughly from his teammate's hands and works at the lid to the rusty cylinder.

The second he opens it, he hears a large intake of breath, wheezing at the fresh air hitting her lungs. "Luce," Tim whispers, ignoring everything around them.

Carefully he reaches down to lift her out, placing his hands strategically under her armpits for more leverage. And just like that, he lifts her up like it's nothing, and she lets out a strangled sob.

"Hey, Boot, I got you." Tim's voice stutters as he feels her weight crash into him, and he sinks to the ground with Lucy in his arms. 

There are sighs of relief aplenty, every one of them grateful for Chen's safety.

"Ambulance is on its way," West speaks, before walking away from the scene in front of him.

The others follow suit, and it's just Tim and his rookie left alone. Her arms are wound tightly around his neck, grabbing on as if her life depends on it. Feeling her body shaking, he realises that Lucy is crying into his chest. There isn't much he can say to make it better, so he opts for holding her close, one arm wrapped snugly around her waist, and the other stroking comfortingly at the back of her head, letting his fingers tangle lightly in the strands of hair.

"I've got you," he says before pressing his lips to her messy tendrils. "Let it out, I've got you, Lucy."

And she does. Violent sobs take over her entire being and all he can do is be there for her. Soon, his shirt becomes soaked, but he pays it no mind, because all that matters is that Lucy is alive. Not exactly alive and well, but alive nonetheless.

"That's the second time you've called me Luce," she announces wetly, pulling back to look at his face. Her arms are still clasped around his neck, so she leans her head down to wipe the tears and grime on her shoulder.

"No it's not, Boot." It takes everything he has to not let a single tear escape his eyes. Everything. Technically he isn't lying. He's only called her Luce once. The second time was Lucy.

"You were worried about me?" 

"No way," he replies with a smug smile. "You're tough, I knew you would be fine."

Laughing gently, she unravels her arms and lets them rest in her lap, which just so happens to be in his lap, making for a really awkward position. Dropping his own hands, he looks her in the eyes.

"Tough, huh? I kind of have to be with you as my training officer." Making jokes in times like this is a good sign.

He nods in response, smiling widely. "Nah, you're a fighter, it's in your blood."

Grateful that the room is empty of people besides the two of them, he raises the hand that had seconds ago been cradling her head, and he sees her flinch ever so slightly. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you."

Blood coats multiple areas of her face, along with dried tears and dirt from where she was being held captive. Another tear falls from her face as his fingers finally find a place to rest on her her cheek as the tears slowly roll down it. He's so glad she's okay.

Caressing his thumb across the bone under her eye, he wants nothing more than to kiss her lips right now, but he can't. For so many reasons, he can't act on his feelings. Instead, he gently brings her face closer to his and places a kiss to her forehead. That isn't too much, right?

It will never be enough for him. But she's okay. That's what matters the most.

"Sorry," she mumbles, "for crying on you."

"Don't sweat it, Luce," he laughs, enunciating the nickname.

She smiles up at him, and before he knows it, she's kissing him. Fuck, there are so many ways that this is wrong, so many reasons that this is not something they should be doing. Not a one comes to mind as he feels her press into him a bit more, and he just loses every rational thought his brain attempts to conjure up.

It's a sweeter taste than he ever imagined, even after everything she's been through in the last however many hours it's been since she went missing. Her lips are soft, soft and satin like, and he knows he should pull back, should step away from this moment. But much to his brain's protests, his heart forces him to deepen the kiss, gently pushing his tongue against hers. Within an instant, she pulls back with a barely audible pop.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Tim - shit, I mean, Officer Bradford." She tries to stand, to walk away, but he holds her in place, silencing her protests with another kiss.

Yeah, he could definitely get used to this.

She stays in hospital for a few days, the doctors monitoring her for dehydration and everything else. The two of them accumulated seventeen stitches between them, earning a laugh from the on duty nurse as they compete with who got the most.

Spoiler alert: it was definitely Lucy.

Tim doesn't leave her side the entire time she's under the hospital's care, using his badge to bypass the visiting hours. They don't talk about the kiss the entire time, but he also barely lets go of her hand. Something tells him that this wasn't going to go away easily. Not as though he wants it to.

The only time he lets her hand go is for bathroom breaks and when the rest of the team come and visit her. Other than that, their fingers are fused to one another, seeking solace in the fact that they are here, together.


End file.
